Which Bundle To Buy?

mkohman

mkohman

mkohman

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1 Sep 2009
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Guys.. I have unfortunately had to send this order back (Stock Code: BU-031-OE) as it was very unstable.. The computer kept attempting to start on cold starts and it would only start on the third attempt and sometimes revert to the normal stock settings.. unfortunately after spending time and effort to nicely put in my case i had to send it back to OC.. I have done my research to find out that this is a common issue with the EX58 UD5 motherboards..

I am in the search for another OC bundle I have 2 x in mind..

1 - Intel I7 with the Asus Extreme 2 board Stock Code: BU-030-OE
2 - Intel I5 with the Gigabyte P55-UD5 Stock Code: BU-012-OB

Now I am not a hardcore gamer and I play games on my xbox 360 if I get a chance.. I want a reliable machine which will be fast and last me for a good 5 yrs (minimum) I mainly use my pc for photoshop CS4 and web browsing and file transfering..

Do you guys think the Asus package will be an overkill and the i5 will be better off for me.. will I notice the differences?

I will be running windows off a Solid State HDD possibly the Crucial or another brand maybe intel.. Please feedback appreciated
 
i5 will be the best one to get, i7 is overkill if you don't game at all on the PC

If it's too slow running photoshop you can always send it back under the DSR
 
I was thinking the i5 too.. I mean all I really want is a fast pc.. booting .. loading apps .. transfering files etc.. openong photoshop and lightroom .. transfering files these type of things.. I am not a gamer .. I just want a reliable and stable machine. I was thinking of the i5 too but the thing is as I already had a bad experience with the Gigabyte EX58 UD5 I am worried if I will have the same issue or a similar bad experience with the P55-UD5? Anyone have this bundle or this motherboard.. ? Thanks
 
mkohman, I think you should look very closely at the new AMD chips and motherboards, you don't need to spend very much money at all to meet your requirements! . . . fast . . . . stable . . . . affordable! :)

This would be an ideal processor for you

AMD Athlon II X2 240

£45.99 inc
 
Big.Wayne said:
No probs! :)

Btw how come you like Intel more than AMD? . . . did you try AMD recently?
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To be honest with you no.. I used to have AMD several years ago. but have been intel for the past 5-10 yrs.. and I am more happy with intel performance.. I am focusing on one of the 2 bundles I suggested so please can I have some more feedback on those 2 specific bundles please.. Thanks for your input ;)
 
They are both overkill for your needs so go with the least expensive! :D

mkohman said:
Now I am not a hardcore gamer and I play games on my xbox 360 if I get a chance.. I want a reliable machine which will be fast and last me for a good 5 yrs (minimum) I mainly use my pc for photoshop CS4 and web browsing and file transfering
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There are a few of us having some issues with the i5 bundle @4Ghz using the supplied OC it's failing prime on one of the cores.
Also it's shot up in price this weekby about £60, so from my point of view it's overpriced.
 
Can you get a cheaper no overclocked i5 bundle?

Reason I ask is because I honestly think an overclocked i5/i7 set-up is overkill for your needs and as you and f2ksel have already experienced they can be a little temperamental and awkward to resolve probs if knowledge of overclocking is limited.

The OC bundle may be 100% stable on OCUK's test bench but when introduced into a different system the oc profile could then become unstable, it shouldn't but from peoples experiences they do. I don’t think a 4GHz overclock on any bundle is fit and forget, components maybe ever so slightly more stressed in use so that needs to be considered also.
 
I'm with Hesky82 on this. All you really need is a CPU, some RAM and a motherboard. If you're upgrading then you should see a performance improvement (or what's the point?) and you can overclock it yourself in 6 months time when the shine wears off.

The Gigabyte X58-UD3R is a very good motherboard indeed for the i920, and if you get yourself some good RAM (for Photoshop the X58 platform is better as it likes the extra RAM) and I would suggest something from Corsair such as this.

Finally, get a Megahalems cooler and a couple of linked PWM fans for cool and quiet. You'll need a splitter cable and an extra fan mount.

Finally, get yourself some quality TIM and you're all set.

I reckon that lot comes to £557.81, and it'll do fine. You can always put the extra £140 or so that the £699 bundle costs towards two Kingston 40Gb (about £70 each) SSDs in RAID 0 for a heck of a performance improvement.
 
WJA96 said:
I'm with Hesky82 on this. All you really need is a CPU, some RAM and a motherboard. If you're upgrading then you should see a performance improvement (or what's the point?) and you can overclock it yourself in 6 months time when the shine wears off.

The Gigabyte X58-UD3R is a very good motherboard indeed for the i920, and if you get yourself some good RAM (for Photoshop the X58 platform is better as it likes the extra RAM) and I would suggest something from Corsair such as this.

Finally, get a Megahalems cooler and a couple of linked PWM fans for cool and quiet. You'll need a splitter cable and an extra fan mount.

Finally, get yourself some quality TIM and you're all set.

I reckon that lot comes to £557.81, and it'll do fine. You can always put the extra £140 or so that the £699 bundle costs towards two Kingston 40Gb (about £70 each) SSDs in RAID 0 for a heck of a performance improvement.
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Fantastic advise mate.. much appreciated.. I am probably going to do this.. however:

1 - Is this board a stable and good board?

2 - Will the Corsair H50 be just as good as what you recommended asa a cooler?

3 - I will probably buy 8gb of Ram for this

4 - THe kingston HDD if I were to Raid the 2 49gb HDD will itr be faster than a single crucial m225. I like the idea of m225 as supports trimming..

Thanks for all your help and advice.. :)
 
mkohman said:
Fantastic advise mate.. much appreciated.. I am probably going to do this.. however:

1 - Is this board a stable and good board? As much as any other :D

2 - Will the Corsair H50 be just as good as what you recommended asa a cooler? yes mate very good there a vs thread on these forums if you want read it
3 - I will probably buy 8gb of Ram for this you know that you need tripple channel ram not double...can be bought in 6gb more then enough mate

4 - THe kingston HDD if I were to Raid the 2 49gb HDD will itr be faster than a single crucial m225. I like the idea of m225 as supports trimming.. pass
Thanks for all your help and advice.. :)
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